Pants presser



April 27, 1943, w RYAN 2,317,406

PANTS PRES SER Filed Feb. 23, .1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 27, 1943. W,H RYAN 2337 406 PANTS PRESSER Filed Feb. 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 50 522g ,4 28 A A, if AM M WW .0/ 49 9 45w .5? 45 50 J I 5%: x

Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PANTS PRESSER WilliamH. Ryan, River Forest, 111.

Application February 23, 1940, Serial No. 320,224

4 Claims.

This invention relates to pants pressers and more particularly topressers for cufi'ed pants.

It is an object of my invention to provide a pants presser whichprovides clearance for the cuffs.

It is another object of my invention to provide a pants presser which isadapted to accommodate and properly press cuffs of diiierentthicknesses.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a pants presser whichis self-adjusted to accommodate and properly press cufis of differentthicknesses.

An additional object resides in the provision of an improved clampingmechanism whereby the pressing sections are resiliently urged towardeach other enabling the same to accommodate trousers irrespective of thethickness of the cloth thereof.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

The invention will be better understood upon reference to the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of my appliance with the sections thereofopen, a pair of trousers being shown in dotted lines in position to bepressed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation,of the outer side of one of the sections.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 33in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially asindicated by the line 44 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. 4,showing the adjustment of the cud pressing portion when not in use.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but also showing the cooperating cuffpressing portion and a pair of cuffs clamped therebetween.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation taken as indicated by theline l-'! in Fig. 6, the cover being removed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is showngenerallyat I a pants presser comprising cooperating sections II and [2 which areessentially identical so that a description of one will suffice forboth. The sections are hinged together as at M by means of preferablymetal straps I secured as at I! to the outer faces IQ of the sections,said hinge being substantially spaced from the sections andsaid strapsbeing resiliently yieldable for a purpose which will appear. Thesections may be clamped together and,

to this end, I provide opposite the hinges [4 other pairs of straps 2iand 22 supported as at 24 by the sections and extending laterallytherebeyond, the portions so extending being resiliently yieldabletoward and away from each other for said purpose to be described. A bail25 carried by the strap 22 is adapted to be retained by the hook portion26 of the strap 2!.

Each section comprises a wooden or other plate 28 to which is glued orotherwise suitably secured adjacent the longitudinal edges thereofstrips .29 and 30, spaced apart to accommodate insulation 32 andelectric heat wiring 33. Similar insulation and wiring may be providedat the inner edges of the strips 39. The wiring of each section isconnected to that of the other as at 34, one of the sections beingprovided with an electrical connection afiording contacts 36 (Fig. 2)adapted to receive a socket (not shown) from the house current. A sheetmetal or other shell 38 receives the plate 28 and associated strips,wiring and insulation, and is secured in place as at 39.

The shell 38 extends from the wide end 4| to a point 42 (Fig. 1) spacedfrom the small end 44 a distance sufficiently great to accommodatetrouser cufis of various widths and lengths. The plate 28 extendsthroughout the entire section, and the strips 29 and 3.0 and associatedinsulation are substantially coterminous with the shell 38. Within thespace aforesaid, I provide strips 45 of wood or other suitable material,glued or otherwise suitably secured to the plate 28, of substantiallyless depth than the previously described strips, and, between strips ofeach pair I provide suitable insulation 46 and continuations of thewiring 33. These and the small end portion of the plate .28 I enclose ina shell or plate 41 which may simulate the previously mentioned shell 38but has a pin and slot connection generally indicated at A9 with theplate 28 or strips connected thereto, so that the shell 4 is capable ofmovement transversely of the plate 28 within the limits determined bysaid connections. Springs 56 are disposed between said plate and theshell so as to constantly urge the shell away from the plate.

Asuitable cloth covering 52 is secured as at 5! to each section, saidcovering extending over the relatively short shell 4,? as well as theshell 38. The intermediate portion of the shell 41 is depressed as at 53for a purpose which will appear, and the covering 52 is sufiicientlyyieldable to lie flat over the entire shell 4'! regardless of theadjustment of this shell and notwithstanding said depression.

When a pair of trousers is to be pressed, one of the sections, such asthe section l2, is placed on a table or other support, and the trousers54 are placed substantially as shown in Fig. 1, with the cuffs 55 clearof the shell 38 and disposed entirely over the shell 41, and the seamedportions 56 of the cuffs arranged so that they extend in and between thedepressed portions 53 as shown in Fig. 6. Thereupon the other section IIis swung down flat over the trousers 54 and the bails 25 connected withthe hooks 26 as shown in Fig. 3. The arrangement of the parts in Fig. 3will occur when the trousers between the sections are of a thicknesscorresponding to the clearance 69 appearing in that figure between saidsections. trousers is relatively greater than that indicated by theclearance shown, the resilience of the portions of the straps l5, 2| and22 extending beyond the sections comes into play, so that it is possibleto secure an effective clamping action upon the full length of theinterposed trousers irrespective of the thickness of the cloth of whichthe same are made. Thus these straps, with a substantially thicker pairof trousers, might occupy the posi tions shown in dotted lines in Fig.3.

The portions of the sections at which the shells 41 are located arerecessed to enable said shells to be separated a much greater distancethan the shells 38, since the portions of the trouser legs beyond thecuffs and longitudinal seams involve only four layers of cloth and, atthe longitudinal seams, involve only eight layers of cloth, whereas thecorresponding portions of the cuffs involve eight and sixteen layers,respectively, as is evident from Fig. 6. The relative adjustability ofthe shells 41 and the depressed portions 53 enables said shells toaccommodate all of these thicknesses and to accommodate cuffs ofdifferent overall thicknesses, as may result by the employment ofthinner or thicker material. When the trousers are clamped between thesections the heating may be commenced by connecting the house currentsocket to the contacts 36.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a pants presserof simple, durable and inexpensive construction, involving parts whichare readily assembled and enabling the cuffs as well as the remainder ofthe pants to receive proper pressing and heating, with the pressuredistributed uniformly over the pressed surfaces. Devices heretofore inuse have either made no provision whatever for the cuffs, therebyaffording an improper distribution of pressure, or have provided cuffrecesses of fixed depth, failing to take into consideration cuffs ofdifferent thicknesses. Moreover, prior devices have been unsatisfactoryin failing to provide for the seams in the cuffs. With my constructionthese disadvantages are overcome and in addition my device automaticallyadjusts itself to accommodate thick cuifs as well as thin ones.

It will be appreciated that while the device is primarily adapted forpressing pants it is not limited to such articles of clothing, butrather is capable of use in pressing coats, vests and other garments.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do notwish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned,except to the extent indicated in the appended claims, which are to beinterpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

If the thickness of the Y I claim:

1. A pants presser comprising a pair of complemental sections wired forelectric heat and between which a pair of trousers is adapted to bepressed, cloth covers extending over substantially the entire juxtaposedfaces of said sections, cuff-pressing means adjacent an end of each ofsaid sections and disposed adjacent and overlying a portion of thewiring and shielded by the associated cover, said cuff-pressing meansbeing disposed to press said covers against the opposite sides of theassembled cuffs of the trousers, means resiliently mounting saidcuff-pressing means to accommodate cuffs of different thicknesses, andinsulation between said portion of said wiring and said cover andnormally substantially spaced from said cover when said presser is notin use. whereby said insulation will not interfere with substantialyield of said cuff-pressing means to accommodate cuffs of differentthicknesses.

2. A pants presser comprising a pair of complemental sections wired forelectric heat and between which a pair of trousers is adapted to bepressed, cloth covers extending over substantially the entire juxtaposedfaces of said sections, cuff-pressing means adjacent an end of each ofsaid sections and disposed adjacent and overlying a portion of thewiring and shielded by the associated cover, said cuff-pressing meansbeing disposed to press said covers against the opposite sides of theassembled cuffs of the trousers, means resiliently mounting saidcuff-pressing means'to accommodate cuffs of different thicknesses, andinsulation between said portion of said wiring and said cover andnormally substantially spaced from said cover when said presser is notin use, whereby said insulation will not interfere with substantialyield of said cuff-pressing means to accommodate cuffs of differentthicknesses, said cuff-pressing means comprising .plates havingdepressions which are juxtaposed to each other when the sections are inpressing assembly whereby the seams of the cuffs may be accommodated inthe space between said depressions.

3. A pants presser comprising a pair of complemental sections wired forelectric heat and between which a pair of trousers is adapted to bepressed, cloth covers extending over substantially the entire juxtaposedfaces of said sections, cuff-pressing means adjacent an end of each ofsaid sections and disposed adjacent and overlying a portion of thewiring and shielded by thev associated cover, said cuff-pressing meansbeing disposed to press said covers against the opposite sides of theassembled cuffs of the trousers, means resiliently mounting saidcuff-pressing means to accommodate cuffs of different thicknesses, andinsulation between said portion of said wiring and said cover andnormally substantially spaced from said cover when said presser is notin use,

' whereby said insulation will not interfere with substantial yield ofsaid cuff-pressing means to accommodate cuffs of different thicknesses,each section beyond said cuff-pressing means being relatively rigid forpressing the remainder of the pair of trousers, and means for holdingsaid sections in operative engagement with the trousers, said holdingmeans being resiliently yieldable to enable said sections to presstrousers of different thicknesses.

4. A pants presser comprising a pair of complemental sections wired forelectric heat and between which a pair of trousers is adapted to bepressed, cloth covers extending over substantially the entire juxtaposedfaces ofsaid sections, cuff-pressing means adjacent an end of each ofsaid sections and disposed adjacent and overlying a portion of thewiring and shielded by the associated cover, said cuff-pressing meansbeing disposed to press said covers against the opposite sides of theassembled cufis of the trousers, means resiliently mounting saidcuffpressing means to accommodate cuffs of difierent thicknesses, andinsulation between said portion of said wiring and said cover andnormally substantially spaced from said cover when said presser is notin use, whereby said insulation will not interfere with substantialyield of said cuffpressing means to accommodate cufis of differentthicknesses, said cuff-pressing means c mprising plates havingdepressions which are juxtaposed to each other when the sections are inpressing assembly whereby the seams of the cuffs may be accommodated inthe space between said depressions, each section beyond saidcuff-pressing means being relatively rigid for pressing the remainder ofthe pair of trousers, and means for holding said sections in operativeengagement with the trousers, said holding means being resilientlyyieldable to enable said sections to press trousers of differentthicknesses.

WILLIAM H. RYAN.

